IN A move which has been rumoured in the locker-rooms in recent months, the European Tour has bowed to economic reality and reduced the prize fund for its season-ending extravaganza in Dubai; the Order of Merit bonus pool and the Dubai World Championship prize funds have been cut by 25 per cent.
It means the bonus pool for the Race to Dubai, which reflects the tour’s money list, has been reduced to €5 million from €6.8 million, while the season-ending tournament has suffered a similar reduction in its purse.
“The European Tour has offered to reduce the prize money to reflect the current worldwide economic position and we will jointly examine prize money levels in future years in the light of this developing global situation,” explained George O’Grady, the tour’s chief executive, in a statement yesterday.
The top 60 players in the Race to Dubai will qualify for the Dubai World Championship, following which the top-15 will share the bonus pool.
The winner of the Race to Dubai will earn just over €1 million and receive a seven-year European Tour exemption, and the winner of the Dubai World Championship will win €850,000 and a five-year exemption.
The Dubai tournament is replacing the Volvo Masters, and the substantial money on offer had enticed the likes of Geoff Ogilvy, Camilo Villegas, Robert Allenby and other US Tour-based players to activate membership of the European Tour.
As it stands, Germany’s Martin Kaymer, who is currently injured, heads the Race to Dubai standings, ahead of England’s Paul Casey. Rory McIlroy is third, but there remains a long run-in to the desert showdown. This week’s Vivendi Trophy – a new name for the Seve Trophy – in Paris doesn’t count, but next week’s Dunhill Links in Scotland is one of eight counting events prior to the Dubai World Championship on the Greg Norman-designed Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
This week Paul McGinley, who is expected to become the first Irish captain of a Ryder Cup team for the 2014 match in Scotland, captains the Britain and Ireland team against the Continent of Europe. McIlroy and Graeme McDowell join eight Englishmen on the BI team.
